Vice Saying It `Failed' to End Boys' Club Doesn't Stop Lawsuit

(Bloomberg) -- Vice Media Inc.’s acknowledgment that it should have treated women employees better came back to bite the company.

The very first paragraph in a gender-bias lawsuit filed against Vice Tuesday quotes a December statement from its co-founders saying “we have failed as a company to create a safe and inclusive workplace where everyone, especially women, can feel respected and thrive." The letter to Vice’s global staff emerged as the New York Times published a story describing more than a dozen cases of sexual misconduct and legal settlements paid to four women.

The complaint in Los Angeles state court also spits back the pledge by co-founders Shane Smith and Suroosh Alvi to achieve “pay parity by the end of 2018.”

A spokesman for Vice Media said the company is reviewing the complaint.

Elizabeth Rose, a Vice project manager in Los Angeles, alleged that Vice discriminates against women by permitting male-dominated management to favor men in pay, promotions and other opportunities and “condones a company culture that marginalizes, demeans, and unders women.”

Claiming violations of California, New York, and federal equal pay laws, Rose seeks class-action status on behalf of hundreds of other employees and wants damages as well as a court order barring future discrimination.

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